DUNN: CC's displeasure with Yanks' roster shows on Opening Day

New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia reacts during the second inning against the Boston Red Sox in an Opening Day baseball game at Yankee Stadium in New York, Monday, April 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

The baseball season, Bronx version, wasn’t yet two innings old when one of those defining moments occurred on Monday afternoon.

The visiting Red Sox had just taken a 3-0 lead when a television camera focused on the face of Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia as he shot a look towards shortstop Eduardo Nunez. How I wished at that moment that I could read minds.

The look on Sabathia’s face was there for only an instant, but it was a palpable snarl. I couldn’t tell whether Sabathia was feeling anger, contempt, disgust or merely frustration. I wondered if he was thinking of the years when he pitched for the Cleveland Indians and had Gold-Glove winning Omar Vizquel playing behind him. Or even of the more recent past when he had the aging, but still dependable, Derek Jeter at shortsop.

Advertisement

Whatever his thoughts were, they were only brief. Sabathia quickly turned away and appeared to be doing what a good professional ought to do be doing, which is to focus on the next batter.

But that brief look said so much.

Moments before the Red Sox had loaded the bases with one out. At that point Sabathia had mostly himself to blame for the predicament, since two of those runners had reached on walks. But he had a chance to get out of the jam with minimal damage when he induced weak hitting Jose Iglesias to tap a grounder to short. Somehow Boston rookie Jackie Bradley Jr. had hustled down the line and beaten Nunez’s throw to second base. A run scored but instead of runners on first and third with two out, Boston still had the bases loaded with one out.

The extra out was crucial.

Sabathia retired the next batter but then was tagged for a two-run single by Shane Victorino. The hit was a ground ball to left field that some shortstops might have been able to glove. Nunez couldn’t even touch it.

It was after that hit that Sabathia allowed his feelings to show.

Just for an instant.

n n n

On Sunday night the Houston Astros played their first game in the American League after spending 51 seasons in the National League.

So, here’s a very trivial trivia question: Can you name four other active teams which once played in a major league other than the one where they currently play?

The answer will be published below.

n n n

On Tuesday night Yu Darvish of the Rangers retired the first 26 Astros he faced and was within one out of a perfect game when the Astros’ Marwin Gonzalez singled up the middle to break up the bid. At that point Rangers manager Ron Washington immediately lifted Darvish, who had thrown 111 pitches.

Obviously, Washington believed Darvish had reached or passed a sensible pitch count, but was not willing to remove the pitcher when a perfect game was still a possibility.

That makes me wonder. Considering the millions of dollars the Rangers invested in signing Darvish and compensating his former club in Japan, was the risk worth taking? Even when a perfect game was a possibility?

Only one day before the Mets’ Johan Santana underwent surgery that will keep him out of the entire season.

Remember last June 1 when Santana was allowed to stay on the mound long enough to throw 134 pitches and achieve the first no-hitter in Mets history. He hasn’t been the same since.

He pitched only 49 innings the rest of the year, compiling a 3-7 record with an earned run average of 7.16. Now he will pitch zero innings this year.

That’s a terrible price to pay for one no-hitter.

n n n

How important are spring training numbers? In the case of the Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo they may not have meant much.

Rizzo batted a mere .229 in the spring. Even though he was playing in the dry Arizona air, he didn’t hit a single homer in 54 plate appearances.

On Monday the Cubs opened their season in chilly, blustery Pittsburgh. Rizzo hit the first pitch he saw into the back row of the center field bleachers for a two-run homer in what turned out to be a 3-1 victory for Chicago.

n n n

Every junior high school catcher is taught, or ought to be taught, the proper procedure when pursuing a pop foul.

Locate the ball first, then throw the mask in foul ground, well clear of the play.

That’s fundamental baseball, or so one would think. Something that should be automatic at the big league level.

Yet, already this season I have seen two major league catchers drop a mask almost at their feet which meant they risked stepping on it as they positioned themselves under the ball.

I suppose that proves that even big leaguers play like little leaguers once in a while.

The Brewers began as an American League expansion team in Seattle. They became the Milwaukee Brewers in their second season, 1970, and remained in the American League through the 1997 season, before being shuttled to the National League in 1998.

The Dodgers (then in Brooklyn), Reds and Cardinals all began in the American Association, which for 10 years rivaled the National League as baseball’s second major league. The Dodgers and Reds shifted to the National League in 1890 and the Cardinals moved two years later when the American Association disbanded.

n n n

A FEW STATISTICS: (Wednesday’s games not included): There have been only three passed balls so far and all three have been charged to Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia. Of course he has an excuse. He had to catch the knuckleballs thrown by R.A. Dickey...An oddity this year saw the Mets and Yankees both opening at home the same afternoon. Officially, 90,567 people paid to watch baseball in New York on April 1...The Mariners’ Mike Morse not only has hit two homers, but has grounded into two double plays. He’s tied for the major league lead in both categories...In 18 innings the Dodgers have allowed 14 hits but the team earned run average is 0.50...The Rockies’ Carlos Gonzalez already has 10 total bases and leads the majors with four runs scored.